1. Field
The present invention generally relates to techniques for characterizing a solid-state light source. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for in-situ characterization of a solid-state light source.
2. Related Art
The use of solid-state light sources is becoming more common in electronic products. In particular, solid-state light sources such as vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) are increasingly being used in applications in electronic products that require a higher degree of reliability. However, the reliability of some-solid state light sources can be lower than that of some of the electronic components they are used in. Therefore, it is often desirable to monitor the solid-state light source in order to characterize its health. Directly monitoring the output of a solid-state light source can be difficult since some monitoring method disrupt the output path or cause unwanted feedback that can impact the output of the device. Additionally, in some cases a “canary” solid-state device is installed in a system and its output is monitored as a proxy for the output of other solid-state light sources in the system. However, there is a chance that the monitored device may itself fail before (or after) the other devices in the system, and additionally, the proxy device does not allow for direct monitoring of individual devices in the system as the system is being used.
Hence, what is needed is a method and system for in-situ characterization of a solid-state light source without the above-described problems.